Looks like the stuff to me Bobby. They used to come off like a blizzard on Lycoming creek in North Central PA. They are all over up there (PA) but the hatch on Lyco always seemed the heaviest to me. Not that many trout in the creek but plenty of March Brown.

We moved to New Jersey not long after my son was born, Hopewell followed by Ocean City. ALL of the insects at the beach were big, especially the
mosquitoes. We began sailing Barnegat Bay in 1990, and a well-sealed cabin is essential for sleeping on the boat.

I didn't do much dry fly fishing during the 10 years we lived in the Garden State. Do you find yourself tying larger sizes than you would for PA?

Well....Sailing, work, and cycling kept me off the streams when we lived in
Hopewell. We did fly fish in Belleplain State Forest while living in Ocean City,
but there weren't any trout there. Work, sailing, heavy involvement in R/C planes(!!!), and looking at babes on the beach... ... kept me from seeking out trout streams during that time.

I don't even know if South Jersey had trout fishing. There was plenty of saltwater ff'ing to be had at the beach, but I never tried it. I did buy an 8wt
a couple years ago, but haven't used it yet.....

The New Jersey guys on the Classic Rod forum are always talking about the
East Branch of the Raritan, and I think it's fairly close to where we live now.

Frank,
There is some great trout water here. Ive never heard of the East Branch of the Raritan. I have only heard of the North and South branch. The North branch is not as good of a stream as the south branch. Theres warmer water and theres more smallies and rock bass in there then trout. Im sure a lot of the stockies die in the summer too. The south branch could possibly be the best stream in NJ and is were I do most of my fishing. It has a great population of holdover trout. The south branch is also home to the Ken Lockwood Gorge which is a trout conservation area. This could easily be one of the most senic places in NJ.

I should be heading up that way this weekend. Ill be sure to post some pics. but in the mean time, here are a few.

We had a smaller sailboat when we lived in Hopewell, and sailed in Round Valley Resevoir. Towing a 20 foot sailboat makes it tough to view the scenery, so I probably drove right past the Raritan and don't remember.